Balochistan government to deploy special force at all university campuses

QUETTA: In the aftermath of the Last Week’s Khyber Paktunkhwa’s Charsadda town attack on the Bacha Khan University, Baluchistan government has decided to establish a special force to be deployed at the university campuses across the province.

Adding that the force will be well equipped, Durrani said 60 personnel will be deployed at each university.

Akbar Hussain Durrani, Baluchistan home secretary, told that the new force would be subservient to the Vice Chancellors. He also said that the administrative powers would be with police over the force.

The Peshawar school massacre and the Bacha Khan University attack were claimed by Umar Mansoor of the banned Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) Geedar group.

Unidentified gunmen entered Bacha Khan University in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa’s Charsadda town Wednesday and opened fire on students and faculty members as they gathered at the school for a poetry recital to commemorate the death anniversary of the activist and leader whom the school is named after.

A spokesperson from the TTP, Mohammad Khorasani, issued a conflicting statement shortly after Mansoor’s claim, in which Khorasani condemned the attack, terming it against Shariah.

Security in the province, especially in Lahore, has been beefed up since the Charsadda attack, with police convoys making the rounds and doing a flag march to display their presence in the area.

All divisional SPs have been instructed to be on high alert and told to carry out security inspections. If security lapses are spotted, the administration will be questioned and instructed to improve their security.

After a terrorist attack on the Army Public School and College Peshawar on Dec 16, 2014, the provincial government issued special security guidelines to the schools, colleges and universities.

Although guards were required to keep guns, teachers showed seriousness in getting trained on how to use a gun in case ‘they need to defend the children’ in a untoward scenario.

A number of middle-aged teachers practicing using pistols seemed eager to fire shots but the instructor who taught them how to hold and load a gun and take the right aiming position told them to practice on to get used to the gun.

Military spokesperson Lt.Gen Asim Bajwa stated that the university premises have been cleared and four attackers have been killed. Security personnel, including Special Services Group (SSG) personnel were tasked with clearing the university premises and securing the civilians inside.